All posts tagged ‘LifeProof’

It’s summer, and that means it’s time to get outside and have some fun. It also means water, either at the beach or the lake or just running through the sprinkler on the front lawn. We all want to capture those moments, especially when we have kids, but it can be a risky endeavor. Phones do not like water and tend to sink to the bottom of things like lakes, which makes snapping the perfect picture very risky. LifeProof has two great solutions to the problem of taking your iPhone into less-than-friendly environments.

I reviewed the LifeProof iPhone Case a few months back, and it’s proven to be a fantastic case to have this summer. It protects your iPhone from dirt and water and still lets you take pictures, talk, and otherwise use your phone just like normal. I’ve taken it to the beach and pool and gotten some great pictures. My only complaint has been that I worry about dropping it and watching it sink like a stone if I’m in deep water. The latest edition to the LifeProof product line, the LifeJacket, removes that worry by encasing your iPhone in a bright orange float.

In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be a klutz and I would never drop my phone. On the off chance that something happened to my device, like my six-year-old son, it would survive the experience unscathed. Yeah … I’ll hang on to that pipe dream. The reality is that phones get dropped. If you have children, regardless of how high you put your phone, eventually they will get their hands on it. So, what is the best way to protect your device? That’s a question I have been asking myself since I first got my iPhone last year.

My first iPhone case was an Otter Box Defender. I chose it mostly because that’s all we use at work to protect company phones. Their customer service has been great when I needed spare parts and overall the cases worked well enough for what we needed. The only issue I have with the defender model is how bulky it is. For the price ($30 on Amazon), it gets the job done.

My second case was a LifeProof case. I asked for it for Christmas because it had high ratings and the claim that it could go swimming and survive made me curious. After my son heard me brag that the case could be dropped and the phone would survive, I walked into my bedroom to see him standing on my bed dropping my phone. “I wanted to see if it bounced” was his explanation. With that said, I really enjoy this case for its slim design and ability to withstand drops. The only bad marks it gets are for not coming with a clip and the price (average is $70 on Amazon).

I’m always worried that my iPhone will meet an untimely death from a wayward drop of rain so when I heard about the LifeProof iPhone case that bills itself as water proof, snow proof, dirt proof and shock proof I knew I had to try it out. Having just come back from a rain soaked trip where I found myself cowering under my umbrella and beneath awnings in an attempt to keep dry, water proof held special appeal. The only problem was getting up the nerve to actually test the thing.

There are videos on the LifeProof website detailing precisely how to put your phone into the case. They’re very helpful but they made me a little nervous that if I did the slightest thing wrong, then my phone was a goner. The first step is testing the case while empty by submerging it in a sink full of water for an hour. I did this and when I took it out an hour later it was completely dry inside. Testing complete, I held my breath, closed my eyes, and tried it with my phone and was relieved to see that it worked perfectly.

The touch screen doesn’t function when submerged, but as soon as you take it out of the water, even with the screen still wet you can use it normally. This means it’s easy to take pictures while you’re in the pool or at the beach without worrying about sand and water. There is even a glass lens cover built into the case that covers the camera lens and ensures your pictures are still high quality.

Touch functionality through the protective screen was nearly the same as without a cover at all. There was only a slight difference between the light touch normally used and the slightly firmer touch needed when using the LifeProof case. It was a minor difference and not one that would caused any frustration.

Audio quality was also very good, with no one I called noticing a difference in sound quality through the water proof acoustic vents of the LifeProof versus the traditional open spaces in my usual case. I also found the sound coming through to be clear and interference free while making calls and playing music.

The LifeProof iPhone case is lightweight and slim enough to use everyday, but is especially suited to those times you’re at the beach, hiking, or in harsh environments that put your phone at risk. It retails for $79.99 and has a full range of accessories for mounting and carrying that make it a great case for those who want to enjoy the outdoors without worrying about the safety of their phone.